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cooking with craft beer

Stout French Onion Soup

Stout French Onion Soup 6

French Onion Soup was Julia Child’s last meal. Seems fitting for a woman known for French classics. And who wants to mess with a classic dish that America’s Culinary Grandma chose as her last meal?

Me. That’s who.

Stout French Onion Soup 4

Although I do like to stick to classic methods when it comes to cooking this warm bowl of cheese-topped-comfort, the addition of a malty stout gives a new dimension and depth of flavor. While most French Onion Soup recipes all have nearly the same ingredients, the results vary widely depending on how you treat the onions, the star ingredient.

Stout French Onion Soup 7

Stick with sweet onions when making this dish, the higher sugar content gives you a better caramelization. Cook them for a long time. Then cook them longer.

Caramelized onions will actually give off a "beefy" flavor when cooked slow and low for an extended period of time. This is one of the major key factors in bringing a soup from "good" to "great".

Although I’m sure Julia would have wanted to throw a copy of The Way To Cook at my head for putting beer in her soup, I’ll just have to make peace with that. I love a beerified soup.

Stout French Onion Soup_

 

Stout French Onion Soup

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 tbs butter
  • 2 lb sweet white onion sliced into ¼ inch rings
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups stout divided
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • ½ tsp fresh cracker black pepper
  • 4 slices French bread toasted
  • 8 ounces shredded or sliced Gruyère cheese about 2 1/2 cups

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot over medium high heat melt the butter. Add the onions, brown sugar and salt, allow to simmer over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are a dark golden brown, at least 30 minutes and up to one hour (the longer onions cook the more flavor develops).
  • Add ½ cup stout beer, simmer until the beer is reduced and the pan is almost dry.
  • Add the remaining beer, beef stock and black pepper. Simmer for ten minutes.
  • Pre heat the broiler on your oven.
  • Ladle soup into bowls, top with slices of French bread toast and then cheese.
  • Broil until the cheese has melted.

 

 

Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili & Is Beer Vegan?


Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili, vegan and gluten free

 Is Beer Vegan?

From an outsiders perspective, the question might seems silly. Beer, after all, is made from plants and water. At its most basic, the ingredients to make beer are simple: water, malt, hops, yeast; all of which are clearly non-animal. And while brewmasters have a way of working everything from bacon to whole chickens into their beer, the biggest culprits are more subtle.

 Is Beer Vegan?-2

Sometimes, the de-veganized beers are easy to spot, a milk stout that uses lactose, or a honey kolsch, but more often than not, our veggie loving beer friends are in the dark as to whether an animal part has made its way into their pints. Since the CDC, the TTB, the FDA and all the other acronym loving agencies that have their grubby paws in what we consume do not require anyone to disclose the use of animal byproducts in the processing of food or beverages, it often gets left off the label (in fact, almost always).

The biggest offenders are what brewers use to clarify beer. While the need for clarifying is often done with non animal ingredients, or replaced with a centrifuge machine, it’s still common for breweries to use ingredients like gelatin or fish bladders as clarifying agents rendering beer not only non-vegan but non-vegetarian. There is also the foam control issue, and I’m not talking about the frothing of the mouth that occurs when your favorite stout is on Nitro, but the desire brewers have to give you that perfect level of foam head on your pints. To gain control on that lovely can’t-you-settle-yet-I-need-a-drink-now head on your beer, brewers have been known to use pepsin (made from pigs) or albium (made from animal blood) to give you the perfect pour.

Is Beer Vegan?

But if you are one of the growing numbers of craft beer loving veggie devotees, don’t despair. Many, many breweries are hip to your vibe, vegan beer is a concern for many. When it comes to finding out if your beer is sans-beasts, google is your friend. Also, websites like Barnivore give a great and growing list of vegan friendly breweries and beers.

For this recipe I used Sierra Nevada Porter, a vegan beer. In fact, as a company, Sierra Nevada is 100% vegan friendly.

Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili, vegan and gluten free

As an addendum to this, it needs to be mentioned that there is nothing wrong with the use of animal products in beer. Milk stout is a favorite of mine, and a good honey kolsch is great to pair with a summer cook out. However, disclosure is key and giving people the information they need to keep the diet they choose is a way to keep us all friends in this craft beer community.

Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 8 ounces crimini mushrooms minced
  • ½ cup onions chopped
  • ½ cup diced carrots
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 1/4 cups broth
  • 1 cup porter or stout beer divided
  • ½ cup red quinoa dry
  • 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • ½ cup corn kernels
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 jalapeno diced
  • 2 cups tomatoes chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Sriracha or other red chili sauce
  • 1 avocado diced
  • ½ cup green onion chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat, add the mushroom, sauté until darkened and softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the onions and carrots and cook until softened about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic then add the broth and ½ cup beer. Stir in the dry quinoa, allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until quinoa is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the beans, bell pepper, corn, smoked paprika, pepper, salt, cumin and garlic powder, allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add the remaining beer, jalapenos, tomatoes, and sriracha, simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced.
  • Ladle into bowls, top with avocado, green onion and cilantro.

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart2

Why beer?

I’ve been asked a lot of questions about why I’ve tried so feverishly to squeeze myself into this world. After all, there are a lot of ingredients that make great culinary obsessions. So, why beer?

To explain that, we’ll have to talk about collaboration. Craft beer is the only major market that does this regularly, with breweries constantly teaming up to co-create a beer. Nike and Adidas will never team up for a collaboration shoe. Nor has Ford and Chevy ever co-produced a truck. Wineries don’t do it, or bike makers, or creameries. Brewers do. All the time.

Beer people, big and small, are wide-eyed, unabashed, gushy, groupie style fans of one another. Unafraid to share that mutual adoration. This leads not just to collaborations but deep and meaningful relationships that can be felt widely across the entire industry. It’s common to see the one brewery owner helping another, lending a hand. It isn’t rare for a one head brewery to call another and say, "I’m short a few bags of malt, can I borrow some from you?" and a truck of grains to be immediately sent over. It’s common for a breweries pubs to pour beer besides their own, unheard of any other liquor industry. It’s a community that favors connections over competition. Beer people have a rising tide lifts all ships mentality, the rivalries friendly, pats on the back and cheering each other’s successes. It’s unlike any other industry. And sure the beer is great, but the people are even better.

That’s why beer.

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart3

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart

Ingredients
  

  • 1 white onion
  • 1 tbs butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/3 cup porter beer
  • 4 wt oz goat cheese
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • ¼ cup IPA
  • 1 russet potato thinly sliced
  • 2 tbs butter
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 pastry crust
  • ½ cup baby arugula

Instructions
 

  • Slice the onion into 1/8 inch rings. In a pot over medium heat add the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes (do not cook the onions at too high heat or they will burn). Add the porter and cook until the beer has evaporated and the onions are a dark golden color, about 15 minutes.
  • In a small food processor add the goat cheese, cornstarch and IPA, blend until smooth.
  • In a cast iron skillet melt the butter, add the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook until the potatoes have browned.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Roll the pastry crust out to a 10 inch circle, transfer to a baking sheet that has been covered with a Silpat or parchment paper.
  • Spread the beer goat cheese evenly across the tart, avoiding the outer 1 inch edge.
  • Top the cheese with caramelized onions then with the potatoes.
  • Fold the outer edge up over the filling of the tart.
  • Bake at 350 until the crust has turned golden brown, about 20 minutes.
  • Top with arugula before serving.

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Although it seems like most of America sees Oktoberfest as The Festival of Barely Contained Breasts And Bad Beer In October, it really isn’t meant to be any of those things.  Oktoberfest began more than 200 years ago as a wedding celebration, it’s morphed into a celebration of local food and drink.

In Germany, they take that local notion seriously. Only beer brewed within the Munich city limits is allowed to be served at the festivities, and last year nearly 7 million liters were served up. Which may explain why 37  kids were reported missing, as well as a live rabbit, during last years event (all children and furry creatures were found safe and sound).

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

The authentic Oktoberfest festivities take place in Munich Germany, starting around mid-September and ending the first Sunday in October, making this year’s event well underway. To celebrate in my own house, far, far from the Bavarian epicenter of the German Beer Lovers Fest, I made a hearty pasta, full of beer brats and brown ale.

The bratwurst began as a peasants dish, using all the scraps left over once the more expensive cuts were taken, which makes it a perfect addition to carbonara pasta, which has its own humble beginnings on a peasants table in Europe.

To sum it up, my friends, celebrate in an authentic fashion: strap on some lederhosen, drink local beer, cook some sausages in beer, but just don’t forget where you put your kids or woodland creatures.

O’zapft is!

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta

Ingredients
  

  • 5 ounces gaunciale or 6 strips thick sliced bacon
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced into rings
  • 1 tbs olive oil plus 2 tbs, divided
  • 6 bratwurst raw
  • 12 ounces brown ale
  • 1 lb spaghetti
  • 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1 cup fresh grated Pecornio or Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 4 large eggs

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the gaunciale (or bacon). Remove from pan, chop. Pour off about half the pork fat, leaving about 2 tbs still in the pan. Add 1 tbs olive oil and onions, cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Remove onions from pan, set aside.
  • Increase heat to medium high, add the bratwurst, cooking until browned on both sides. Add the beer and reduce heat to medium low, simmering until the bratwurst are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Slice into rings.
  • While the bratwurst are cooking, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, drain and return to pot.
  • Add sliced brats, chopped gauncaile (or bacon), caramelized onions, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbs olive oil to the spaghetti, toss to combine.
  • One at a time poach the eggs in simmering water until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
  • Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Stout Braised Pulled Pork Chili

Stout Pulled Pork Chili

If you want to watch a culinary sports crowd get rilled up, ask what the "right way to make chili" really is. Just meat? Beans? No beans? Pork, vegetables, beef? Tomatoes? Because if you do it "wrong" you might was well be at  Morton’s and ask for ketchup with your steak. Or waltz yourself in the kitchen of a southern Grandma and boss her biscuit making ways around: you might get yourself punched.

I happen to be a bit more of a wandering chili Gypsy, the only requirement that I see necessary is a kick of heat. Some days I want beans, some days I want to pack it full of pork, chipotle stout, hold the beans and top it with pork rinds.

Regardless of your "right" way to make chili, I hope your take away from this recipe is that the braising liquid, what is left after a pork shoulder simmers in beer for 4 hours, is the perfect liquid to use in chili. It’s packed with flavor, beer, broth, spices, and meaty goodness. Don’t wash it down the drain, strain it and save it for making soup and chili. Even freezing it if you have to.

It’s like a free secret ingredient, even if you still have to fight with your brother in law about why you want to add beans.

Stout Pulled Pork Chili 2

Stout Braised Pulled Pork Chili

Ingredients
  

For the Pork

  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2.5-3 lb pork butt pork shoulder
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 24 ounces stout beer or porter
  • 2 cups beef stock

For the Chili

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion diced
  • 1 red pepper diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 14.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14.5 ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
  • 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo minced
  • 2 tsp adobo sauce from chipotle can

Garnish:

  • 1 cup sharp cheddar shredded
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped
  • ½ cup red onion chopped
  • 1 large tomato chopped

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
  • Sprinkle pork on all sides with spice mixture.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven until hot but not smoking. Sear pork on all sides until browned.
  • Pour the beer and beef stock over the pork.. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add a lid at a vent and allow to cook until pork is very tender and shreds easily, about 4 hours. Remove from the pot, shred using two forks, return to the pot and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove meat from the pot with a slotted spoon to drain off excess moisture (reserve braising liquid).
  • In a separate pot heat 2 tbs olive oil, cook the onions and red pepper until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Add 1 ½ cups of the pork braising liquid, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Serve topped with cheddar, cilantro, red onion, tomatoes and pulled pork.

Stout Pulled Pork Chili 3

 

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

Today is the day.

Today, September 18th,  the book I spent months creating, turning myself into a figurative nightmare, pouring blood, sweat, tears and beer into each recipe, hits mailboxes and store shelves across the land. While I should be feeling excessively accomplished now that I can officially slap a Publish Author tittle after my name, there is also a thin film of vulnerability draped over today. Because more than I want it sell like Funfetti Cronuts, I want it to be well received, I want you to love it. I wish all the recipes to be Home Runs, every step to make sense to ever cook, and every Amazon reviews to be glowing.

What you think matters to me, probably more than it should. So if you buy this little book of mine, The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link), and you have a question about a recipe, email me: [email protected]. If you make a recipe and love it, tweet a picture to me @TheBeeroness. If you make a recipe on your own blog, share it on my Facebook page. I want to know what you think (let’s be honest) especially if it’s good.

While I spent the weekend worried about the release of cookbook, and working out the details of the book tour, I decided it was a great idea to stress eat caramel corn. I even made two batches.  The first batch I used a hoppy brown ale, which gave the caramel a mild beer flavor that was a bit lost once it coated the corn. The next batch I used an imperial stout, a big bold beer with enough monster taste to give the caramel corn notes of beer in every bite.

Caramel corn and a cookbook, not a bad Wednesday.

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

Ingredients
  

  • 1/3 cup corn kernels
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs light corn syrup
  • ½ cup imperial stout plus 2 tbs, divided
  • 4 tbs butter
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 250.
  • Place the corn kernels in a brown paper bag. Fold the top over. Place in the microwave (long side down), microwave on high for 4 minutes. When the popping starts to slow to about one pop per one second, remove from microwave. Measure out 7 cups of popcorn (if there is less than 7 cups, pop additional kernels in the same manner, if there are more than 7 cups, reserve the remaining popped corn for another use).
  • Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray.
  • Add the corn kernels to the baking sheet in an even layer, place in the oven until the caramel sauce is ready.
  • Add the brown sugar, light corn syrup, ½ cup stout and butter to a saucepan over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, stop stirring. Allow to boil for 7 minutes, without stirring. Remove from heat, immediately stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons stout.
  • Spray a silicon spatula with cooking spray (except the handle).
  • Gently pour the caramel sauce over the corn, stirring to coat.
  • Bake for 20 minutes at 250, stir, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and spread evenly onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper, sprinkle immediately with salt. Allow to cool, until hardened. Store in an air-tight container.

 

Salted Beer Caramel Corn 2

 

Pumpkin Ale Muffins with Graham Cracker Streusel Topping

Pumpkin Ale Muffin2

Don’t judge me for this.

It’s obligatory. After all, I am a blogger, and it is pumpkin season. And as the beer-food blogging hybrid beast that I am, pumpkin season means two things. First, there is the food blog trend of Pumpkin All The Things that I must participate in. Second, there are the most highly anticipated of all seasonal beers: The Pumpkin Ale.

So naturally, I couldn’t let this season slip away without presenting you with a few pumpkined items, roll your pumpkin weary eyes if you will, but it’s not over yet.

I will now further assault you with a list of Must Try Pumpkin Beers, In no particular order. Are you sick of list? I hope not, I am quite the list maker, so sit tight, it’s about to get real.

1. Souther, Tier Pumpking. This has been on my list for a while, but being a West Coaster, it’s not available to me anywhere near my current longitude. It’s only because of This Girl and her new Husband that I was able to try it a few months ago in Boston. It’s fantastic. An epic example of Pumpkin Done Right. If you’re on the East Coast, it’s fairly mandatory that you pick one up.

2. Shipyard, Smashed Pumpkin. This is what you grab if you want to be punch in the mouth with some pumpkin, it’s not subtle, as Shipyard rarely is. It’s full force pumpkin in your face.

3. Elysian, Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. A nice, low ABV (I like the low alcohol beers, it means I can drink more) pumpkin pie tasting treat. More subtle than others, with a nice maltyness.

4. Avery, Rumpkin. This guy is a beast. If there was a Pumpkin Ale School Yard Bully, it’s this guy. Not only did Avery make a pumpkin ale that demands attention, they went and aged it in rum barrels (!!!!) to give you a monster ale with monster flavor and monster ABV. Be prepared to share, or at least call a cab.

5. Cigar City Brewing, Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This is what happens when your pumpkin beer takes a Caribbean vacation. Unique spices that come from Jamaica give you a new take, completely worth seeking out.

Pumpkin Ale Muffin5

 

Pumpkin Ale Muffins with Graham Cracker Streusel Topping

Ingredients
  

For The Muffins

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup pumpkin ale
  • 2 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • ¼ cup canola oil

For the Topping:

  • 5 standard sized graham cracker sheets
  • 2 tbs all purpose flour
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbs melted butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In a large bowl sort together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.
  • In a small bowl stir together the pumpkin puree, pumpkin ale, eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and canola oil.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
  • Spray 12 muffin tins with cooking spray.
  • Scoop the batter into the well of a muffin tin to about 2/3 full.
  • In a food processor, add the graham crackers and process until reduced to just crumbs.
  • Add the flour, brown sugar and salt, pulse to combine.
  • Add the melted butter and process until well combines.
  • Scoop about 1-2 tbs graham cracker mixture on top of the muffin batter.
  • Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until top spring back when lightly touched.

Notes

Optional add in's (stir in the batter just before pouring into the muffin tins):
2/3 cup raisins,
2/3 cup chocolate chips,
2/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries,
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Ale Muffin3

Pub Cookies

Pub Cookies made with beer, pretzels, chocolate chips and peanuts

I want to put a beer cooking trick up your sleeve. A secret skill to help maneuver the beer cooking universe with deft dexterity. I like to call this a Beer Extract, made by reducing that bottle of beer to a small but mighty beer syrup that fits nicely into a recipe that wants some beer flavor but is without the capacity to handle large volumes of beer right out of the bottle.

Pub Cookies made with beer, pretzels, chocolate chips and peanuts

It’s easy, really. Just simmer the beer long enough to remove the water, leaving all those other great flavors in a compact bite of beer essence. When a recipe, like these Pub Cookies, can only take a little bit of liquid and you want a bit o' that beer flavor to come through at the end, all you need to do is reduce the beer to remove the water and you’re all set.

While this might not bring you the large amounts of beer taste you might want, there is a subtle malty finish to the end flavor, along with those pretzels that always seem to love to tag along for the beer flavored ride.

Pub Cookies made with beer, pretzels, chocolate chips and peanuts

Pub Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces imperial stout or porter beer
  • 3/4 cup butter cut into cubes
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup bread flour this will make them chewy
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips 60%
  • 2/3 cup mini pretzel twists broken into pieces
  • ¼ cup honey roasted peanuts

Instructions
 

  • In a pot over medium high heat add the beer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 tbs, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and both types of sugar, beat until well creamed. Add the egg and the yolk, beat until well combined. Add the 1 tbs of beer, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined, scraping the bottom to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
  • In a separate bowl, add both types of flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on medium/low speed until just barely combined, don't over mix. Add the chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, and peanuts, and stir until incorporated.
  • Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop golfball sized scoops of dough, roll them into round balls and place on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Bake for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown, don't over bake. (If you don't chill the dough, or if you make smaller sized cookies, the cooking time will be much shorter. Start to keep an eye on your cookies after about 12 minutes.)

 

Mediterranean Beer Braised Pork Burgers

Beer Braised Pork Burgers2

We could never manage to get ourselves through an entire conversation about cooking with beer without talking about meat. Sure, the magical leavening powers of beer give bread that awesome texture, and after making a chocolate stout cake none of my cakes will ever be sober again, but meat is where it all begins.

There is no hard data on the inception of beer cooking, but my educated guess leans me towards meat. Not just for the incedible meat tenderizing properties of beer, but also due to the fact that it’s a mild preservative, important in those pre-Frigidare days of trying to feed a crowd. These days, meat and beer just seem to have found a seamless connection, a perfect marriage that leads to the birth of outstanding crowd pleasing meals. This union is due in no small part to the fact that beer gives meat an amazingly tender texture while infusing it with a little bit of that beer flavor we all know and love.

So, what beer with what meat, you ask? Great question. Here are my recommendations:

Beef: Imperial Stout

Pork: Smoked Porter

Chicken & Turkey: Brown Ale

Fish: White Ale

 In my history of beer cooking, those are the pairings that have proven the most successful. Also, don’t forget to save some of that beer for drinking.

Beer Braised Pork Burgers

For this recipe I used my Homemade Beer Burger Buns, which was a fantastic idea.

Mediterranean Beer Braised Pork Burgers

Ingredients
  

For the Meat:

  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 3 lbs country style pork ribs
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 14.5 wt. oz. stewed tomatoes
  • 12 oz smoked porter
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 white onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic chopped

For the topping:

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbs dill chopped
  • ½ cup red onion very thinly sliced
  • 1 English cucumber dices
  • 1 cup firm tomatoes chopped
  • 8 Homemade Beer Burger Buns

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cumin.
  • Sprinkle pork on all sides with spice mixture.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven until hot but not smoking. Sear pork on all sides, working in batches in necessary.
  • Pour the stewed tomatoes and beer over the pork. Add the Worcestershire, onions and garlic. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add a lid at a vent and allow to cook until pork is very tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Shred using two forks, removing the bones from the pot. Remove meat from the pot with a slotted spoon to drain off excess moisture.
  • To make the sauce, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, dill and red onion. Chill until ready to serve.
  • Split the burger buns and fill with pork, top with cucumber, tomatoes and yogurt sauce.

Beer Braised Pork Burgers3

Homemade Beer Burger Buns

 

Homemade Beer Burger Buns via @TheBeeroness

 The Beast of Yeast

If you are among the yeast-averse, those who are convinced that bread making isn’t in your skill set, you probably haven’t even read far enough to see that I have faith in your yeast taming abilities. Not only is it easier than you think, it’s so completely satisfying to watch that bread rise, yielding perfectly delicious results, and it’s also much cheaper than buying sub par alternatives at the market.

Over the past few years I’ve falling in love with the process of bread making, figuring out not just how to make dough rise, but why it fails. Here are my tips to making sure you have fresh baked success every time you tear open a packet of yeast:

1. Rapid rise yeast and regular dry active yeast are not the same. Rapid rise yeast needs more heat to activate, a heat level that will kill regular yeast. Use the type of yeast that the recipe calls for or the dough won’t rise (or won’t rise properly).

2. Buy a kitchen thermometer. Yeast is very picky when it comes to heat. Make sure the liquid you use is in the right temperature range. If the liquid is too hot, the yeast will be killed. If the liquid is too cold, the yeast won’t be activated. A thermometer will take any guess work out of it.

3. Yeast dies. Check the expiration date, if yeast is past that, it doesn’t have the living organism necessary to make dough rise.

4. Salt kills yeast. Don’t let yeast come in direct contact with salt or it will die. I’m over cautious with this, adding salt towards the end, after the yeast has been activated by the liquid. Salt is important in giving bread a bright flavor and helping you to avoid bland baked goods. Don’t skip salt, just add it last.

5. Dough rise times will depend on the temperature of your room. Dough rises faster in a warm room, and really slowly in a cold room. Although dough will still rise in a room as cold as 40F, it will take days to double in size. If the recipes says, "Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour," pay more attention to "doubled in size" rather than the "1 hour." Especially in winter, if your house is cold. It could take several hours if your house is colder than 70F.

6. Yeast feeds on sugars. You’ll have much higher levels of yeast rising success if you let your yeast feed off a little sugar (granulated sugar, honey or anything else with high sugar content). Add some to any bread recipe you make for greater levels of dough rising success.

Homemade Beer Burger Buns via @TheBeeroness

Now that you’ve had your crash course in yeast baking you are all set to tackle that culinary bucket list and impress your friends.

You can totally do this.

 

Homemade Beer Burger Buns

5 from 1 vote
Servings 8 buns

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups All purpose flour
  • 1 envelope rapid rise yeast 2 ½ tsp
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ¾ cup wheat beer
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • 1 tbs raw honey
  • ½ tsp salt plus additional for topping
  • egg wash 1 egg plus 1 tbs water, beaten
  • 2 tbs sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, and onion powder. Mix until combined.
  • In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt, honey and add softened butter.
  • Turn speed to medium-high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface, knead a few times. Cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
  • Form each piece into a tight ball. Add evenly spaced over a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
  • Cover loosely and allow to rise until almost doubled in size, about 20-30 minutes.
  • Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt.
  • Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Homemade Beer Burger Buns via @TheBeeroness

Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts

Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts

We need to chat, you and I. About the Cooking With Beer odyssey I’ve firmly placed myself on and the reasons, both practical and provocative, that I’ve remained such a Craft Beer Cooking Devotee. While I know that the reason you’re drawn to these brew-infused foods may just be the ability to lay down a tray of treats and proudly proclaim, "I put beer in this!" there is in fact, a very functional side to beer baking.

Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts

Leavening is the hallmark reason to use beer in your bread. And cakes, and doughnuts for that matter. It gives your baked goods a light and tender texture that just can’t be touched by the water or milk. Making that beer in your grubby paws a great addition to anything that needs a lightness to it. These doughnuts are a great example, the dough turned out extremely light and tender, giving you the impression that it was completely acceptable, nay…imperative, that you eat four. Ok, five. Doughnuts, those deep fried little vixens, can often be dense and tough, but just wait until beer has its way with that dough and it’ll never be the same.

Although that isn’t to prevent you from placing a large plate of homemade Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts in front of a table full of friends and saying, "I put beer in this!"

Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts

Classic Glazed Beer Doughnuts

Servings 12 -16 doughnuts

Ingredients
  

Doughnuts

  • 3 cups bread flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 packet rapid rise yeast 2 ¼ tsp
  • ¾ cup wheat beer
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 large egg yolk room temperature
  • ¼ cup heavy cream room temperature
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tbs butter softened
  • oil for frying

Glaze

  • 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 cup IPA beer

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the flour, sugar and yeast.
  • Add the beer to a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperate and repeat until beer reaches between 120 and 130 degrees F.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer, mix until most of the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the vanilla then the yolks, one at a time. Add the cream, salt and softened butter.
  • Building up speed, beat on high until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade.
  • The dough will be very soft.
  • Add dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubles in size.
  • Punch down the dough and knead lightly to remove any air bubbles. Place dough in the fridge and allow to rest for 1 hour.
  • Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1 inch thickness. Cut doughnuts out with a 3 ½ inch biscuit cutter with 1 inch circle holes.
  • Place doughnuts on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Loosly cover with a towel.
  • Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  • Fill a large heavy bottomed saucepan with canola oil until about 4 inches deep. Add a deep fry thermometer and bring oil to about 360 degrees, adjusting heat to maintain temperature.
  • Working in batches, fry the doughnuts on each side until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from oil and allow to cool on a wire rack.
  • To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and the IPA beer until well combined. One at a time dip the doughnuts in the glaze.
  • Allow glaze to set before servings.

 

Adapted from: Classic Glazed Doughnuts, Epicurious

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Bourbon Sour Cream Frosting

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake3

Although I may be shattering illusion with this admission, I don’t always cook with beer. I often create very sober meals with teetotaling side dishes, not a whisper of booze in sight.

However, over the years of carving out a niche in this corner of Craft Beer Land, I have found that beer is an essential and non-replaceable ingredient in several dishes, it just does the best job.

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake2

My Thanksgiving Turkey will always be brined with a brown ale, the meat tenderizing properties of beer have no match. If you want a juicy bird, it’s the best way to get there.

My dinner rolls will always be made with wheat beer, the leaving agents are just too good.

My steak will always be given a good soak in a dark craft beer, it gives the best results.

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake5And my chocolate cake will always be made with a nice chocolate stout. The first recipe I ever made with beer was a stout cake, it was by far the best homemade chocolate cake I had ever made, wooing me to the boozy side of baking.

The taste was both rich and light, smooth and bold. It may have been a gateway recipe that lead me down a path of beer cooking obsession.

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake4

Epic Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Bourbon Sour Cream Frosting

Ingredients
  

For the Cake:

  • 7 wt oz 72% dark chocolate chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces Chocolate Stout
  • 3 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs + 2 yolks
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1 tbs espresso powder
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

For the Frosting:

  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 4 cup dark chocolate chips melted & slightly cooled
  • 4 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions
 

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In the top of a double boiler (or a bowl set over gently simmering water), add the dark chocolate, and butter, stirring frequently until just melted. Stir in the chocolate stout.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the sugar, eggs and yolks until well combined, light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the oil and sour cream, beat until well combined.
  • Slowly add the chocolate, beating until all ingredients are well incorporated, scraping the bottom to make sure all us well combined.
  • In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and kosher salt.
  • Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, stir until just combined.
  • Grease and flour 3, 9-inch cake pans (or two cake pans, and 12 cupcake tins).
  • Pour the batter evenly between the pans.
  • Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched, (15-17 minutes for cupcakes).
  • Allow to cool, remove from pans (it’s easiest to transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper.)
  • To assemble a tall cake it’s easiest if all ingredients are cold, warm cake and frosting tend to slide. For best results chill the cake layers for 1 hour prior to assembling.
  • Chill assembled cake until ready to serve.

For the frosting:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the softened butter on high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream, beat until light and fluffy.
  • Slowly pour the melted chocolate into the mixer, beating until well combined with the butter mixture.
  • Add the powdered sugar and slowly building up speed, beat on high until well combined.
  • A few tablespoons at a time add the bourbon and the cream, allowing to fully incorporate before adding more. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
  • Cover bowl and refrigerate until set, about 20-30 minutes.

 

Italian Beer Bread Sticks & Tips for Beer and Food Pairing

 

Italian Beer Bread Sticks & Tips for Beer and Food Pairing via @TheBeeroness

Before we jump in to my treasure trove of beer and food pairing tips, we need to dispel one myth: there are no rules. Drink what you  prefer and eat likewise. If YOU like it, it’s a good pairing, there are no hard and fast rules, just considerations and principles to keep in mind.

1. Consider intensity. When subjecting your tasters to a palate wrecking chipotle dish or 1000 IBU IPA, consider the delicacy of what you’re pairing that monster with. Mild works well with mild, and strong holds up next to strong. If you really want to pair an intense food or beer, you may consider equally intense counterpart that can take a punch.

2. What flavors linger should be what is paired. Consider what flavors stick around on your palate after the bite when you think about what you pair it with. Making a steak with a garlicky cream sauce? That sauce will probably linger more than the meat. Pair to that rather than the steak.

3. Alcohol intensifies heat. This can be good or bad, but a factor that should be considered. Was that curry a little more mellow than you intended? Grab a high ABV (alcohol by volume) beer to kick the heat up a notch. On the other hand, that jalapeno and Habanero chili might need a low alcohol session beer.

4. Don’t forget texture. I will spare you from a lecture using my least favorite beer term, "mouth feel," with just a mention of the idea that carbonation cuts through grease and fat. A great compliment to a triple cheese pizza isn’t as much a flavor but a texture, bubbles add a cleansing balance to a rich greasy meal. While a smooth stout, with low carbonation levels, will match the silkiness of a creamy chocolate mousse. Consider carbonation levels when paring, not just flavors.

5. Think of all the flavors being in one bowl. The ingredients should be able to coexist simultaneously, and although the argument can be made for contrasting, the best place to start is complimenting. The best way to do this is thinking about all the flavors together. Let’s just pretend that you made yourself a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. What do you want to throw in that pot? a beer with notes of caramel and molasses or a beer with lemon and basil. I don’t know about you but that last beer is looking like a much better man for that job.

Italian Beer Bread Sticks & Tips for Beer and Food Pairing via @TheBeeroness

When it comes to cooking and beer, it’s always a fairly safe bet to pair with the beer you used to make the dish. I used a higher hop wheat beer for this, a good beer for pairing as well. The wheat matches the flavors in the breadsticks (obviously) and the slightly higher than average hops can keep up with the kick of garlic.

Italian Beer Bread Sticks

Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 breadsticks

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 envelope rapid rise yeast
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp fresh rosemary minced
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 3/4 cup beer wheat beer or pale ale
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Topping:
  • 3 tbs melted butter
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp course salt

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, garlic powder, sugar and rosemary. Mix until combined.
  • In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt and add softened butter.
  • Turn speed to medium-high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
  • Roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch breadsticks. Transfer to a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
  • IN a small bowl whisk together the melted butter and garlic powder. Brush breadsticks with the butter mixture, reserving any leftover.
  • Sprinkle with coarse salt (I used smoked Maldon salt)
  • Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until a light golden brown.
  • Brush with remaining butter prior to serving, if desired.

Italian Beer Bread Sticks & Tips for Beer and Food Pairing via @TheBeeroness

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

 

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

While flavor may be a great go-to reason to cook with beer, don’t overlook the more practical applications of beer cooking. One of the cornerstones of Practical Beer Cooking is the inherent meat tenderizing properties of beer, making it the perfect brining liquid. While infusing the meat with flavor and uping the juiciness factor, beer also lends it’s powers to giving you extra tender meat. While land dwelling meat is often the target of brining, most scallops need a good long soak in a hoppy brine.

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

Scallops are a deceptive beast. For the most part, these sweet and mild little sea treats look simple to prepare. But a few minor issues could be robbing you of that restaurant quality greatness. The first, and most damaging issue is that the majority of grocery store scallops will come soaked in a phosphate solution that, while whitening and preserving, infuses the scallop with a soapy taste. This phosphate solution also permeates the meat, leaking out during cooking and preventing you from getting a good sear. So, really, you need to flush the beast to get a great meal out of it. The phosphate soaked scallops are generally referred to as "wet" scallops and those that are not soaked in anything are referred to as "dry" scallops. While dry scallops are still available, they are harder to come by, more expensive, and much more rare the farther you get from the water. If your scallop is white and sitting in a pool of milky liquid, it’s a wet guy. If it isn’t labeled "dry packed" you can bet your dinner that your new found culinary delight has been hanging out in phosphates for a while.

The cure to this is really simple, and relying on those meat tenderizing properties of beer will give you a great wash to get your scallop back to a dry pack quality. Allowing the scallops to brine will work the phosphates out, giving you the ability to sear those beautiful scallops without that nasty milky liquid seeping out in the pan, ruining that beautiful sear you want. Make sure to allow them to dry really well before searing to get that great golden crust that always drives us crazy.

For this recipe I used a smokey stout for the sauce (the Sauce of Dreams, that I sort of want to take a bath in), the slight notes of smoke are really beautiful and add a bit of a Texas Barbecue flavor to these nicely seared scallops. I used Still Life by Beachwood Brewing, a really nice stout, with beautifully layered flavors. Look for a stout or a porter (both dark beers that are interchangeable when cooking) that have notes of smoke or espresso.

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

Ingredients
  

For the Scallops:

  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 2 tbs salt
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 12 jumbo scallops
  • 2 tbs unsalted butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil

For the Corn Puree

  • 4 ears of corn
  • 5 tbs butter
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 cup cream or half and half

For the Sauce

  • 1 cup stout
  • 1 tbs molasses don't use Blackstrap
  • 3 tbs balsamic
  • 1 tbs soy

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl stir together the pale ale, salt, water and lemon juice.
  • Add the scallops, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • While the scallops brine, make the puree. Cut the kernels off the corn cob, set aside.
  • In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the kernels, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cream. Allow to simmer until corn has softened, about 8 minutes. Add to a blender or food process and process until smooth, about 5 minutes. Pass through a fine mesh strainer or chinois (this will remove any fibers and give you a really creamy puree).
  • Make the sauce: Add the stout, molasses, balsamic and soy to a sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a strong simmer, cooking until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes (should easily coat a spoon). Sauce can be made three days ahead of time and stored in the fridge, but with thicken as it cools. Heat slightly to thin.
  • Remove the scallops from fridge and place on top of a stack of 4-5 paper towels. Add another layer of paper towels and allow to drain and dry for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper on both sides.
  • Add the butter and olive oil to a pan over high heat. Allow the butter to melt and get very hot, nearly smoking.
  • Add the scallops, flat side down, and allow to cook until a dark golden brown crust forms on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until seared on the opposite side. Remove from pan when a slight hint of translucent pink still remains at the center, don’t over cook.

Beer Brined Scallops over Smokey Corn Puree and Stout Molasses Sauce

Lemon Beer Dream Cake

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

As I type this, I stand firmly on the waining end of National IPA Day (August 1st).  With two different bottles of IPA rattling around in my bones, I blame all levels of grammatical inaccuracies and typos on higher than average ABV’s.

IPA day was started by bloggers, with nothing to gain but promoting the hoptastic end of craft beer sepctructrum. It wasn’t a cooperate game, a marketing strategy, or a way to promote a single beer. It’s a rally cry, a voice from within this community I’ve come to love that just says, "join us." A way to celebrate the beer that’s at the cornerstone of a movement that identifies us as a community and a way to pull others into the pot. Drink the Dry Hopped Kool-Aid with us, we want you here. No singular voice benefits from this, it’s just a fun, rising tide, that lifts all craft beer ships.

For these reasons, I’ll always participate. Until it gains sponsors, then I may have to reconsider.

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

As I spent a day in and out of comprehensive distraction, I did what I do in this corner of Craft Beer Land, I cooked. I baked. I made a cake that served as a bit of therapy for a strange time in a strange life. I wanted to pay homage to the Beer of the Hour, but that IPA can temperamental. Cooking and reducing an IPA in any capacity can be a bit hit or miss. Higher IBU beer (IBU stands from International Bitterness Units, it’s how to tell how hoppy or bitter a beer is), reduce to a very bitter product. I generally use them when the beer won’t beer cooked (or at least not cooked for an extended period of time), or when I want a little beer to go along way, flavor wise.

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

A fringe benefit of beer blogging is surprise shipments of beer from great breweries. A recent shipment was graciously sent over from a brewery out of Athens, Georgia called Terrapin. Although most of the time I’ve spent in Georgia should go lavishly unrecorded, I would like to take a trip back to visit this place.

Terrpain’s dedication to diversity of brew, as well as a steadfast determination to provide Beer For All, makes this a place I want to hang out. Sampling the beer sent all the way to the far reaches of the West Coast, I found beer that I can give to the Craft Beer Seekers in my life as well as beer that I consider to be Gateway Beer. Gateway beer is a favorite category of mine, and often hard to fill. It’s beer that will rest well on the palates of those in the Craft Beer know, as well as easy beer to serve to people who, "don’t really like beer." It’s my way of pulling a few vodka drinkers and inBev devotees over to the Craft Beer side.

Only hours after a stash from Terrapin landed on my doorstep, I weighed my options. For this cake, I needed a lower hop beer for the cake and wanted an IPA for the filling and the frosting. I choose Maggie’s Peach Farmhouse ale (great gateway beer) for the cake and Hopzilla (beautiful, well balanced IPA) for the frosting.

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

If you’re new to craft beer, or want a beer that’s easy to serve to people on the beer fringes, the Maggie’s Farmhouse is a great one to offer. It would also be a great choice for my Beer Sangria.

The Hopzilla I really liked, it was well balanced and in my world of flavor profiles and balanced tastes, that’s a win. A nice malt finish after a hoppy start always wins me over.

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

Lemon Beer Dream Cake

Ingredients
  

For the cake:

  • 2 ½ cups cake flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tbs lemon zest
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup Saison pale ale or White ale beer
  • 5 egg whites reserve yolks for curd
  • ¼ tsp cream or tartar

For the filling:

  • 2 whole eggs plus five yolks
  • 1 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice about 6 large lemons
  • 1 tbs lemon zest
  • ½ cup IPA beer
  • 2 tbs corn starch
  • ½ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes

For the Frosting:

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1 tbs lemon zest
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 3 tbs IPA beer
  • 3 tbs whole milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, sugar, and lemon zest, beat on high until very well combined, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, add the beer and buttermilk (it’s ok if it curdles).
  • Alternating between the flour and the beer mixture, add a bit of each to the stand mixer while it runs on low speed, until all ingredients are combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well combined.
  • Remove the batter, add to a large bowl. Clean the mixer very well (using a hand mixer or a separate mixer is fine as well).
  • Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the clean bowl of a stand mixer, any amount of fat and the egg whites will not whip properly.
  • Whip on high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
  • Add about 1/3 of the egg whites to the cake batter mixture, gently fold to combine. Once combined, gently fold in half of the remaining egg whites, then the final egg whites, stir until combined.
  • Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans very well (8 inch cake pans will work as well), divide the batter between the three pans.
  • Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the tops have just started to brown.
  • Allow to cool to room temperature before removing from pans.
  • While the cake is baking, make the curd.
  • In a pan off heat, whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, beer, and corn starch. Add the butter cubes, place the pan over medium high heat. Whisk frequently until thicken to a pudding like consistency, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, add to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  • To make the butter cream, add the butter, sugar, and zest to a stand mixer, building up speed, beat on high until very well combined, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  • One tablespoon at a time, slowly add the lemon juice, beer and milk, allowing to re-mix to a fluff consistency between additions, this should take no less than 8 minutes total. Make sure the frosting is very well whipped.
  • To assemble the cake, add one layer of cake to a cake plate. Top with half of the lemon mixture, then with another layer and then with the rest of the lemon mixture before adding the final layer of cake. Top the final layer of cake with the butter cream. If you want to frost the entire cake with buttercream, double the buttercream recipe, assemble the layers and chill the cake for at least one hour before attempting to frost.
  • Chill until ready to serve.

Lemon Beer Dream Cake via @TheBeeroness

 

 

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

Falling into the world of craft beer, I lacked a full grasp of the type of people this obsession attracts. Over the years I never cease to be amazed at the warmth and heart that exists in the gatherings of the Craft Beer Enthusiasts, the salt of the earth types that dwell here. It’s hard to explain to people who are outside, how to really articulate how golden the souls, how quickly we connect to one another over a shared fascination. How our celebrities brew beer, and our Mecca lives in various 750 ml bottles.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to spend a truly unforgettable weekend in Boston, courtesy of Attune Foods, to marinate in the company of the Craft Beer Crowd. The final night gave me a clear tableau of the heart of this community. In the middle of a large conference space, in the bottom of a Boston hotel, was an impromptu potluck of rare beer, a spontaneous gathering spread out by strangers. People from all over the country packed bottles of beer, rare beer, sacred beer, hard to track down beer, beer that people dream of, in order to share it with strangers. They pulled from their stash of beer that took them months, even years to track down, in order to share it with people they have never met.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

I was honored, and so grateful, to be handed beer I’ve only read about, from people I’d never met. "I though you’d like this," or "I brought this to share, do you want some?" It was touching, and even a bit overwhelming, that people who didn’t know me would share, with such enthusiasm, what is often rare and hard to come by. Some bottles weren’t even replaceable, aged for several years. This is craft beer. People who just want to share, in community, what they have come to love.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

 

And all I have to offer in return is my gratitude, and some knowledge about food, and a few recipes. Let’s start with steak. A few tips can give you an unforgettable meal, to serve with that rare beer.

First, is the selection process. Have you ever noticed those stickers on the packages of steak in the grocery store? Prime, Choice and Select? While they should put: Great, Pretty Good and Don’t Bother, they leave it a bit ambiguous. If you know what to buy, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Prime is the best, but of course, most expensive. Choice is runner up to prime, not as good as Prime, but it’s often much less expensive. Select should be labeled: Please Don’t Select, it’s poor quality. If a steak isn’t labeled, it probably was so poor, it didn’t even earn a Select designation. If you see an unlabeled piece of meat that has a sticker that says, Inspected by the USDA, don’t fall for it, all meat is inspected by the USDA. Look for a well marbled steak, about an inch in thickness that’s labeled Prime or Choice.

Second: marinate and dry. Beer is a natural meat tenderizer, using it in a marinade gives steak an amazing texture. Drying the meat well, while it feels counter intuitive, is the only way to get a good sear and avoid 50 shades of gray meat.

Third: excessively salt your meat. Don’t be shy with the salt, it’s imperative. Liberally salt the steak on all sides, it’s pretty difficult to over salt a steak and salt is extremely important to the final flavor.

Fourth: buy a meat thermometer. If you cook meat a lot, you get used to the feel test and you can vibe it. But until then, testing with an inexpensive meat thermometer is a foolproof way to get the exact doneness that you want. You really don’t want to spend all that time and money only to over cook your steak because you didn’t want to spring for the $7 meat thermometer.

For this recipe I love a smoked porter, it’s one of my favorite go-to beers when it comes to cooking with beef.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter

Ingredients
  

For the Steak:

  • 1 ½ cups stout or porter
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 New York Steaks or Tri Tip Steaks choice or prime
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 tbs olive oil

For The Butter:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup porter
  • ¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the beer, Worcestershire, onion powder, paprika and salt.
  • Place the steaks in a baking dish, cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours, turning at least once while marinating.
  • While the steak is marinating, make the butter. In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the ½ cup porter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 tbs, 8-10 minutes.
  • In a food processor add the butter and reduced beer, process until well combined. Add the Gorgonzola and pulse to combine.
  • Add butter to a sheet of plastic wrap, roll into a log and refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.
  • Fifteen minutes before cooking, remove the steaks from the marinade. Place on a stack of paper towels, top with additional paper towels, pressing down firmly. Allow to dry for about ten minutes.

Grill Method:

  • Preheat the grill to medium high.
  • Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.
  • Brush the grill with olive oil.
  • Place the steaks on the hottest part of the grill until grill marks appear, flip. Once grill marks appear on the other side, flip again. Flip a total of 4 times to create a diamond grill pattern, keeping the grill closed between flipping. Test the temperature and remove when desired doneness is achieved.
  • Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  • Slice the butter into 1 inch pats, add one pat to each steak.

Oven Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.
  • In a pan over medium high heat add the olive oil, heat until hot but not smoking. Add the steaks (two at a time) and cook on each side until a brown seared crust has formed, about 2 minutes per side. Avoid crowding the pan, cook in batches if necessary. Move steaks to a sheet pan or baking dish.
  • Cook in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until desired level of doneness. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  • Slice the butter into 1 inch pats, add one pat to each steak.

Notes

Temperatures for doneness:
126°F Rare,
131°F Medium Rare,
145°F Medium,
154°F Medium Well,

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

Beer Sangria

Beer Sangria2

The first cocktail ever invented was a beer cocktail. Although the term cocktail will need to be defined as "a beverage made by mixing two or more alcoholic liquids" to come to that conclusion, and legions of cocktail snobs will stand up to debate that with me, I firmly defend the beer cocktail as being the spark that ignited a cultural inferno.

Beer Sangria4

It was the early 1600’s and rum had just been discovered on sugar cane plantations in the Caribbean, after what I’m assuming wasn’t much more than a school-yard dare, when workers decided to taste the fermented mixture of water and molasses. It was such an instant success it quickly became an accepted form of currency.

Beer Sangria

Sailors were given a "rum ration" on long voyages (which gave rise to the popular pairing of pirates and bottles of rum, yo-ho-ho). As a way to extend those rations, they began to mix rum with beer, water, sugar, and whatever else they could find. They called this charming mixture of beer, rum, and whatever: Grog. Although the hangover-inducing thought of that might not sound so appealing, it’s definitive proof that beer mixology isn’t a new phenomenon.

In fact, beer mixology predates liquor mixology.

Beer Sangria-3

At the time, it was out of necessity, beer was cheaper and more abundant than other liquors so it made economic sense. These days, craft beer has a database of flavors that no other liquor can touch.

From caramel and molasses to grass and apricots, this is booze that makes sense to mix into your cocktails.

It’s not about improving beer, it’s about improving the cocktail.

Beer Sangria

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup peach nectar I used Kerns
  • 2 ounces fresh lemon juice
  • 2 ounces simple syrup
  • 4 ounces Pisco Reservado
  • 2 cups frozen peaches
  • 24 ounces summer style ale see note

Instructions
 

  • In a large pitcher stir together the peach nectar, lemon juice, simple syrup and Pico. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
  • Add the peaches and beer, serve immediately.

Notes

Beer: A lot of the new summer release beers will work really well for this, look for a beer with notes of citrus, apricots, peaches, or basil.
Pisco: Pisco Reservado is a liquor made in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chili, a brandy made from wine grapes. Most liquor store will carry it, call around to find some in your area.
Peaches: You can cut and freeze your own peaches or you can buy them frozen. Using frozen peaches instead of ice will help to avoid a watered down pitcher of booze.

 

IPA Ceviche Lettuce Wraps

Beer Ceviche Wraps 2

We tend to feminize or masculinize food. Beer is man food, as is bacon, grilled red meat and bourbon. While tea, lavender, scones and blueberries tend to been feminine. Chocolate seems to be neutral go-between, grabbing it’s gender label once the final product is presented. Chocolate Stout Cake with Maple Bacon Frosting: Man Cake. Chocolate Strawberry Mousse: Girly.

Although I don’t ascribe gender to my food, I can clearly see the lines drawn in the sanding sugar. These daintly looking no-cook treats will fool you like the little vixens they are. One look at these mango and shellfish filled lettuce cups and you firmly place these in the Chick Food category. But with a sharp bite of beer and a punch of spicy heat, they would beg to differ.

Along the lines of my  I think now is a really good time to tell everyone minor motorcycle crash story, It’s past time to tell you that alcohol intensifies heat. While there is no way to tell the precise Scoville Units in any given jalapeno pepper, I can tell you that number will be dramatically increase after those suckers have spent an hour soaking in a high ABV IPA. So if you don’t want to turn on the oven, and don’t mind a little capsasin abuse to the mouth, this is a great meal.

If you’re man enough.

Beer Ceviche Wraps 4

 

IPA Ceviche Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb raw shrimp diced
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup lime juice
  • 1 manila mango peeled and diced
  • 1 tomato diced
  • ½ red onion diced
  • 1 jalapeno diced, seeds removed
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • 2/3 cup IPA beer
  • 4 heads endive
  • 1 head radicchio

Instructions
 

  • Place the shrimp in a small bowl. Cover with ½ cup lime juice and ½ cup lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until the shrimp have turned pink, about 2 hours.
  • In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients (except the radicchio and the endive), allow to marinate for at least one hour.
  • Just prior to serving, drain the shrimp, add to the mango bowl and toss to combine.
  • Scoop a few tablespoons of the ceviche into the leaves of the endive and the radicchio, serve chilled

Notes

For a lower heat level, reduce Sriracha to 1/4 or 1/2 tsp.